T H E  S O U L  C O L L E C T O R
by coldbutterflies
Summary: Alicia Pschye may seem just a little strange to other people, but that's normal, considering that she can see ghosts. Her whole life is a journey in which she manages to attendend high school and collect the souls of ghosts at the same time.
1. Chapter 1

T H E S O U L C O L L E C T O R

Life is beautiful. Treasure it.

The First Experience

Ever since I was young, I could see ghosts, or "lost souls". My grandma told me it was natural, and that she did too. Most of them looked human, but with a little transparency. They kept to themselves, conversing with their family. My grandma said that they were harmless. However, there were some that were bad. She said when I grow up; it was my job to take care of them. What did she mean by that?

Today was the beginning of my junior year of high school. I already knew everyone, but I tended to keep to myself. I guess people thought I was weird. I had one friend, and I guess that was enough. She was deathly afraid of ghosts and other dead stuff. Thank goodness she doesn't know about me. Her name is May Imai, and is as beautiful as a flower. Her gorgeous smile is one of the things that keep me going. Her eyes are green and she has wavy platinum blonde hair. May has a kind and jubilant personality, always bringing people to high spirits.

What about me, you ask? Well, I am Alicia Psyche, a Soul Collector. It's my job to find and collect the lost souls that wander around Lotus City. I was born with this job and I will die gathering them. Nice, right? No. Sometimes, it is a pain to run around the bustling city while trying to avoid people. I can pass right though them on the job, and they can't see me, but they will have a weird tingling feeling. You may not realize it, but there are so many people dying! Sometimes, they just stay in buildings that were once important to them, and don't come out. Often times, they are passed by unnoticed by me. I have no idea why. Maybe I should ask my grandma about that.

I should also tell you that I live with my grandma. She's my only family I've got left. My parents died in a car accident when I was five and grandpa died of old age. Ever since I was young, I would always plan to do well in school and find a good job and support my grandma and give her happiness. So, that's what I've been doing ever since. She told me that whatever I will be, she will always love me and I will always be her little angel. She's everything to me! She has the whitest white hair and the most beautiful teal eyes. She doesn't look like it now, but she was a Soul Collector in her youth too!

I sort of sped through training and took the job early, since my mom was no longer here. I had to replace her. She and my dad knew where to go and I hope they're enjoying their life there. You see, I was put through vigorous training since I was six. I thought it was fun to run through the various training grounds. Every time I completed one, I was rewarded with an aquamarine colored crystal bead. I didn't know (and still don't) the purpose of them, but they were pretty so I took them. Currently, I have a whole jewelry box full of them. They twinkle in the light.


	2. Chapter 2

T H E S O U L C O L L E C T O R

Life is beautiful. Treasure it.

The Second Experience

I put on my school uniform and flicked my straight, silky black hair back. I looked at the full length mirror and blinked my lively blue eyes. My grandma, Sally, called me from the kitchen downstairs. I guess she needed help with something. It was a small kitchen, since we lived in an apartment. There was a single light bulb that hung from an extension. It seemed to have burned out.

"Can you help me with the light dear? I'm much too old to reach for it." My grandma asked. I smiled.

"Sure thing Grammy!"

I slung off my black book bag and took the new light bulb from Grammy's hand and leaped up, using my hand to unscrew the old light bulb and threw it to my grandma. She caught it quickly. Even though she was an old lady, her reaction skills were outstanding! Still in mid air, I quickly screwed in the new one and continued flying across the table and landed on my hands. I did a back flip and landed on my feet, wiping the dust off of my blue uniform skirt.

"Thanks!" My grandma exclaimed.

After eating a pleasant breakfast of freshly made pancake and orange juice, I headed out the apartment door. We lived on the second floor. As I was walking down the old stairs, I spotted a soul that was just hovering around, not knowing what to do. It looked like a blue ball of flame. It was a newly lost soul. These were pretty common, and were harmless. Since they were easy to collect and send to the Other World, I didn't need my full power. As I walked towards it, it seemed to notice me. I placed my hands together and closed my eyes.

"Find peace in the Other World." I whispered.

The lost soul began to glow immensely bright, and within the next second, it had gone to the Other World. I've never been to the Other World, and I do not intend to, at least not for a long time. Opening my eyes, I continued to the lobby and out the apartment building. The bright morning light glared in my eyes. Shielding my eyes from the light, I checked to see if there were any other lost souls. I usually didn't need to see them. I could just sense them. It's just one of the abilities that came with the genes.

I saw May walking up the block of the school. I called her name and she turned around and smiled. What a great way to start the day; seeing her smile. We walked into school together. We walked up to the big board that had lots of papers pinned up with names and classroom numbers. I stayed behind while May checked the classrooms. She came back to me smiling enormously. She grabbed both of my hands and started jumping up and down.

Oh my gosh! We are in the same class again!" she exclaimed. A smile crept up on my face. I couldn't believe it! This luck! We walked into the school linking arms. Our classroom was 3-A, which was on the third floor, which had all the junior classrooms. I slid open the door, and found some old classmates, and some new classmates sitting around on chairs and desks, happily conversing. I hadn't seen them in a long time. My summer was basically soul collecting and training. Of course, I was allowed time to hang out with May too!

The homeroom teacher came in five minutes later. He had tan colored hair and green eyes. He was the youngest teacher here at Langston High. Most of the girls gave flirty stares at him, including May. Some guys were frowning because of that. I looked around some more and saw the most popular group in the school. I guess they're in the same class as me again. I looked worriedly at the star of the basketball team. May interrupted my train of thoughts.

"We have the best class and best homeroom teacher ever!" She squealed, smiling widely. I smiled at her.

"Yeah."

Throughout the day, it was easy, since it was the first day of school. We basically were introduced to the subject and the teachers, and were handed out contracts that were to be signed and brought back the next day. Lunch was the same too. As I ate my homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwich, as May gushed about how this year was going to be so great!

Unlike some girls in my class, I love gym! It was like training for me. Even though it's not as hard, it was pretty fun. My favorite is when we have gymnastics, since that was what I was best at. I ran on the mat and jumped up and did three spins on the horizontal bar and landed a perfect landing. Some of the watchers clapped.

"Amazing! I wish I could be like that!" May exclaimed.

"Thanks!" I replied, looking at the different stations.

After gym, everyone changed in the locker rooms. It was a relatively quick day. When school finished, May and I went to go grab a bite at the local pizza store. However, I saw a human soul wandering around, seeming to search for something.

"Hey, May. You go into the pizza store and order first. I just realized I have to run an errand. I will be right back!" I exclaimed to May as I started off towards the soul, who was now looking at flowers.

"Um, Okay." May replied, looking a little confused.

I ran into an alley and transformed. I had a necklace that had a white stone attached to it. I liked to call it the cleansing stone, since it helps me transform and collect souls. I had a black cape-like jacket and wore short denim jeans. My regular school shoes were replaced with sleek black boots that went up to a few inches below my knees. I also had black gloves.

Running out of the alley, and now invisible to humans, I spotted the lost human soul. He looked up and saw me. Not knowing who I was, he started running down the block. I was trained for this. I didn't run miles a day for nothing when I was training. I easily caught up with him and prevented him from running.

"W-What do you want from me? Why can you see me?" The ghost exclaimed.

"Don't worry. I'm going to help you cross over to the Other World so you can be with your loved ones.

"Where?" He asked.

"It's a place where you will find happiness. You don't want to stay here and wander around! It gets dangerous." I smiled at him. He was a man that looked like he was in his forties. I assumed he was in the banking occupation. "Come on, don't worry! You can trust me!"

I closed my eyes and held my "soul cleanser" between my palms and whispered "Find peace in the Other World."

The man began to become bright, starting from the bottom. After a few seconds, he was all bright.

"I don't know why, but I feel happy!" he said, laughing.

"You're going to a better place." I explained.

When he was gone, I sighed. These were the times where I enjoyed doing my job. I just collected a pure soul; A soul that was pure of heart and had no regrets. You see, there are four different types of souls I deal with.

Infant Souls- These are the ones that are merely a week old. They are the ones that recently left their host's body through death. These are the only ones that do not have a full body. It hovers like a ball of flame.

Pure Souls- They are souls that have been wandering around for about a month or two. Infant Souls turn into these. They are pure of heart but need help to cross over to the Other World.

Mixed Souls- They have some type of regret or want to solve a problem before they leave. Sometimes, they are pretty stubborn.

Black Souls- They are so corrupted by evil that they lose their own mind. They have been wandering around on Earth for too long, sometimes for years. This is when they start hunting down other souls and engulf them to grow stronger. They are a big threat.

I occasionally encounter black souls, but with the help of my trusty weapon I call Soul Purifier, I can take them down and collect them. I'm not strong enough to purify them completely, so I bring them to my grandma to handle. She can still handle jobs like those.

After running into another alley and transforming back to normal, I enter the local pizza store to see May munching on a cheese pizza in the back. I discovered that a few students from our class were here too, including the popular people. The popular basketball star guy, Dylan met my eyes, and I sadly turned away. I couldn't bear looking at him. It was just too sad.

It turned out May had already bought my usual pizza, the one with chicken on it. I sat down across from her and thanked her. As usual, the warm cheese melted in my mouth and the chicken tasted delicious. We didn't want to return home just yet, so we just stayed and chatted. I liked that, since I was spending time with my best (and only) friend.

Occasionally, we would talk but listen in on the conversations of the popular group. Seraphina, who was the most attractive and popular girl was whining and holding onto Dylan's arm. She was called Sera for short.

"Why not? We look great together! I know you like me!" Sera whined.

"I'm sorry, I just can't." Dylan sighed and said. His eyes were sad.

"Can you at least tell me why?" Sera said, pouting.

"I'm really sorry, but it's private." Dylan replied while brushing a lock of hair from her face.

I knew the reason why, because as a Soul Collector, I knew when people were going to meet their end, or at least approximate. I also know why too, if it is going to be a natural kind of death. You see, Dylan has a brain tumor that is enlarging. The doctors say it's impossible to take it out now, for he discovered it too late. He wanted to keep it a secret, since he didn't want to disappoint his fellow classmates. Besides, he didn't want his classmates to worry about him. Sweet guy. Now I'm only approximating, but he had about a year left. I guess he doesn't want to hurt Sera's feelings.

I admit they do look good together. They both were really pretty. Dylan had messy blonde hair and amazing gray eyes. They can really put you into a trance. Sera on the other hand had curly light hazel brown hair and dark brown eyes. They were tall too! As you already know, Dylan is the star of the basketball team. Sera was the lead cheerleader, so she was really fit and dedicated to her sport.

After half an hour, we decided to go home. I came home to see my grandma cooking dinner. To me, she is the best cook in the world! She says she learned it from her father, who was a master chef. Grandma taught me quite a few things too. Currently, she was cooking spaghetti with clams and other seafood. I love seafood.

That evening, when I was eating dinner with my grandma, I told her about my day and the two encounters with souls. She told me about my mom and dad, which I was glad, since their memories in my mind weren't exactly that clear. I knew that mommy was a Soul Collector too. Daddy was a normal human who was let in on the secret. It freaked him out at first.

"It would always freak your dad out when you and your mother would stop and stare at something that's unseen able! He would get shivers because he knew what you two were staring at. This is when your mom would handle the ghost while your dad held you in his arms." Grandma said as she smiled at the old days. I smiled too, because I actually recall those little moments.

That night, I took a hot shower and slept early. I needed the energy, since I don't know how much I need the next day! Who knows if it's going to be an uneventful day? Who knows, I might even pass by a Black Soul. I don't want to think about. Instead, I thought about attending school tomorrow with May. Slowly, sleep overcame me as my soft eyelids drooped.


	3. Chapter 3

T H E S O U L C O L L E C T O R

Life is beautiful. Treasure it.

The Third Experience

I was awoken by the television playing in the tiny living room. Sleepily, I got up to check it out, since I knew grandma doesn't watch television in the morning. She wanted me to have as much sleep as I can, and she knows that I wake up at the slightest sounds.

The floor creaked as I made my way though the dark into the dim living room. The only source of light came from the television. There, my grandma sat on the floral patterned couch, staring gravely at the television. I looked up to see the headlines at the bottom:

**Unknown serial killer kills 5 high school girls. **

My eyes widened as I realized what was happening.

"So far, five identified high school girls have been found in the abandoned factory near the south port of Lotus City. Their parents are mourning and are hoping for news of catching the killer. The investigation unit will not comment about the current situation. If you have any information, please call this number at-

The television shut off. My grandma placed the black remote control onto the coffee table and sighed.

"I knew I sensed something bad this morning." My grandma said sadly. My grandma has a far stronger sense of death. She can tell when there are multiple unnatural occurrences of death.

"These were only five that were found. I can tell there were more that are not located." She said.

"Why high school girls?" I asked.

"Well dear, that's for you to find out." She replied.

"Oh yeah. I forgot to mention. Another duty of a Soul Collector is to solve the crimes that deal with murder. I hated to deal with these crimes. It consumes a lot of my time and I have to eventually confront the killer. I guess I should get used to this."

That morning, I went to school, as if nothing happened. However, everyone at school was talking about it. I pretended I didn't hear of it when May asked me if I knew about it.

"That's tragic-" I paused as I saw a ghost of a high school girl appeared in the classroom. She was looking around at everybody, wondering what the commotion was. She was Grace, a nice quiet girl that had really curly hair. Her voice was really sweet. She tried to talk to her friend, Karen. Karen was talking with Rachel, and naturally, had no idea Grace was near.

"K-Karen?" Grace said as she flailed her arms in front of her face. "R-Rachel?" She flailed her hands hopelessly once more. She frowned, frustrated and confused. She looked around the classroom and then, her eyes met mine. Her eyebrows furrowed, confused. She started walking towards me and stopped next to my desk.

"A-Alicia? Can y-you see me?" She asked me anxiously. I nodded. "No one's been answering me! It's as if I am invisible!"

I looked away, feeling really horrible. I didn't know how to break it to her.

"Alicia? What's happening?" She asked.

"Come with me." I whispered calmly to her. I turned my attention to May. "I'm going to the restroom, I'll be back."

May nodded and I got up from my desk. Grace followed me out the door. I stopped and looked around to make sure no one was around. When I was sure the coast was clear, I turned and faced Grace and looked at her seriously in the eyes.

"Look Grace. Something terrible happened and you do not remember it. I guess you took a lot of damage to your brain." I said solemnly.

"W-What do you mean?" Grace inquired.

"What was the last thing you remember?"

"Um… me going home from school and going to…" Her memory was getting fuzzy. "I went to the park to play with Sandra… and then… Wait! Where's Sandra?" Her brain started to hurt. "W-What's happening? My head… it hurts!" Tears started flowing out of her eyes.

"Grace…" I trailed off.

"What's happening? I don't get any of this! I-I need to find Sandra! We have to go home before it gets too dark!" She cried.

"Grace, listen to me." I said.

Grace was now crying harder. I placed my hands gently on her shoulders. She hugged me, and I was surprised by the gesture. I slowly wrapped my arms around her too.

Rubbing her back, I said "It's okay Grace. I'm here. I'll go find Sandra with you."

"T-Thank you!" Grace said as she choked between sobs.

I still didn't know how to break it to her. The poor girl thinks she is still alive. I could tell her brain and memories were scattered, since she was sitting at her normal desk, listening to the teacher talk. She did not find it strange that she wasn't taking any notes, or that the last thing she remembered was being at the park with Sandra, and now she was at school.

I tried to concentrate on my studies as best as possible. It was hard, since I kept thinking about Grace and Sandra too. Since Sandra was not here, I could not help but think that she had died too. After school, I told May that I was busy. Grace brought me to the park she was at yesterday. She pointed at the swings, which was the last thing she remembered swinging on with Sandra.

Looking at the scenery, I noticed that the forest was close to the swings. All that was separating it was the black gate that surrounded the park. We walked to the swing set and I looked around. I uncovered some leaves to find some drops of blood. Grace gasped, horrified.

"Blood?" Grace exclaimed.

I sighed. There must've been a struggle here. There was some smudged blood on one of the poles that supported the swing set. Grace's brain began to hurt once more.

"I think I remember something!" Grace cried. I looked at her. "A man in a dark suit came here and punched Sandra! She fell and had a bloody nose! Next thing I knew, we were in a really dark place and it was shaky, like we were in a car!"

"You're doing fine, Grace." I said calmly as I placed my hand on her back. "Continue."

"T-Then, after what seemed like forever, the car finally stopped and we were pulled out. We were in something rough, like a sack. It hurt a lot when we hit the ground! I-I remember hearing water coming from somewhere. It was too dark to see."

It must've been the abandoned factory the news reporter earlier was talking about.

"Come on, let's go to the place you are describing." I said.

"You know where it is? She asked.

"I have an idea." I replied. "Come on." Along the way, I transformed. I was in my black jacket cape again and short denim jeans.

"Wow, you just changed!" Grace exclaimed.

"Yeah."

Now, we were both invisible, but she didn't know that. We got onto a bus and sat down towards the back. After about an hour, we got off. As I looked around, I recognized it as the southern part of Lotus City.

"Hey! I think that's the water I was hearing!" Grace cried as she pointed at the ocean.

"Let's go then." I said.

Together, we made our way towards the sea, towards the abandoned factory. It had an eerie feeling surrounding it. There were still police investigating the place. A yellow "Do Not Cross" tape was surrounding the whole area. We walked right through, not needing to bend down to go under it. I guess that's a positive thing about being a ghost and a Soul Collector. We can pass through without humans noticing us. We walked through the opened factory and immediately, a damp, foul smell filled our noses.

The smell of death. It reeked really badly. There were some police nearby talking near some covered bodies.

"Yeah. The five discovered girls. The crime unit says that all the victims had curly light brown hair and brown eyes. They all were around 5'6. It seems like they all were murdered the same way. They had a blunt force trauma to the head quite some time before they were hanged. What the murderer's motive was they still do not know.

Two police went to the five bodies that were shrouded in a white cover. They uncovered them one by one, to reexamine them. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I saw Grace's and Sandra's corpses lying there, each with a bloody head. There was an outline of a thick, twisted rope around their neck.

"H-Hey, why am I looking at myself? W-Why do I look so hurt?" Grace exclaimed, confused. "Sandra! She's right there besides me!"


	4. Chapter 4

T H E S O U L C O L L E C T O R

Life is beautiful. Treasure it.

The Fourth Experience

"Grace, I think it's time I told you something." I said, solemn.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Remember how no one responded to you, and you felt invisible?"

"Yeah." Grace said, listening intently.

"Well, you are no longer living. You are currently a ghost, confused because your memory is unstable." I said, avoiding her terribly confused eyes. "You see yourself because that is your body." Only I can see you because I am a Soul Collector and it is my job to help you cross over to the Other World.

"I-I don't understand." Grace said, with a tear rolling down her pale cheek.

"The reason you are still here, is because you feel like something is not finished. You want to find out who did this to you and Sandra… and the other girls." I said.

Grace was covering her face and crying.

"I-I remember now! Everything! That m-monster!" She cried.

I placed an arm around her and listened intently. She continued.

"When I got there, I heard screams and moans, coming from other girls. They sounded like their mouths were taped with duct tape! Sandra and I were dragged into this abandoned factory and the guy opened the sac we were in! Sandra tried really really hard to fight him, to prevent him from touching us and dragging us to someplace! Next thing I knew, he knocked our heads with a shovel and we immediately fainted…"

Grace looked around, absorbing the surrounding. Memories of the other girls screaming while trying to escape from the chains that kept them on the wall flooded her mind. Grace fell to the floor, trying to cover her ears as the screams and moans of the terrified girls rung in her mind.

"T-There's more than five girls…! It was way more!" Grace exclaimed.

"Do you know what happened to them?" I asked, surprised.

"T-They were hanged one by one! It was so terrible because he was laughing crazily like he was having fun!"

"Did you see it happen?"

"Sandra and I woke up to the sound of shrieks of the other girls… It sounded like every few minutes, a girl would say 'No, no! Please don't kill me!' There was something wrapped around my eyes, so I couldn't see anything. Every second of the pitch darkness felt like an eternity! However, I heard everything! T-The sound of a whimpering girl, the sound of cutting rope… I remember that my head throbbed like crazy. "

So if there are more girls… then where are they? Guess I will have to find out.

"Alicia?"

"Yes, Grace?"

"How are my parents?"

"… I can take you to them."

Grace nodded and we left the dismal crime scene. Taking the bus back, we went to Grace's house. Passing through the door, we found her parents crying in the living room. The mom's eyes were puffy and red, and the dad looked like he hadn't had any sleep at all.

"Grace… my baby! S-She's gone!" The mother said to the dad though sobs.

"I know honey. The police will catch whoever did that to our daughter." The father said reassuringly. He didn't show it as much, but he was really remorse about it.

"Mother! Father!" Grace cried as she ran towards them. She placed a gentle hand on her mother and looked sadly at her. Grace's mother continued crying. "I'm here mom, its okay!" Grace wiped a tear from her mother's cheek. The mother's eyes widened at the touch.

"Dear? Are you all right? What happened?" The father inquired.

"I-I felt something on my cheek." The mother said as she slowly placed her hand on her cheek. It passed right through Grace's hand.

"Are you okay? Maybe you need some sleep. We all do." The father said.

"I-I can't! I can't rest until that killer is sentenced!"

"Mom! You should really rest!" Grace exclaimed.

Grace's dad hugged his wife.

"Don't worry. That horrible murderer will be caught and justice will be served."

Grace's mom hugged back and cried on his shoulder. Grace sat down on the couch too, trying to comfort her parents.

That night, I told my grandma what happened. She nodded in understanding.

"Tomorrow, go with Grace to find more clues." Grandma told me.

"Okay, I will." I responded.

I lay in bed, twisting and turning. Grace's death and the other girls distracted me. It was on somewhat a personal level, since I knew Grace and Sandra since freshman year of high school. I really hoped Sandra had already crossed over to the Other World. I finally drifted to sleep after what felt like an eternity.

The next morning at school, everyone was talking about Grace and Sandra. All the girls were scared of leaving their homes now. In fact, quite a lot of the girls stayed home.

"It's so sad that Grace and Sandra… passed away… It feels different without them here." May said to me.

"Yeah." I said as I saw Grace appearing into the classroom. "I hope they can rest in peace."

"But how can they? They were murdered so cruelly!" May exclaimed.

Grace frowned. I looked up at her.

"That's true… But I'm not thinking about that anymore. I'm worried that he might strike again. He's out there somewhere, still hunting down girls and killing them for fun, hearing the cries of the audience of chained girls." Grace said solemnly.

"Grace…" I said.

"Hm?" Did you say something?" May asked.

"Hm? No. Nothing." I replied.

Mr. Anderson, our homeroom teacher called for the class' attention. We all looked up.

"So, as you know, two of our dear classmates have been murdered recently. We will have a candlelight vigil tonight right after sunset at the park Grace and Sandra were last seen in." He announced.

The school day passed by pretty quickly, and everyone met up for the candlelight vigil. Grace's and Sandra's friends and family were there too. The three other girl's relatives were there too. Everyone held a candle. Grace stood beside her parents, who were standing towards the front. Karen gave a speech about Grace and Sandra.

"As you know, Grace and Sandra were two happy, loving, sweet girls that did not deserve the fate they encountered. They were members of our class that we all hold dear. Without them, it feels totally different and empty. They've been with most of us since freshman year. Remember when you needed a smile; either Grace or Sandra would come cheer you up? There will be justice served for the two beautiful girls, whom we hold dear in our hearts." Karen said.

There were many tears shed. Other people spoke too, and other speeches about the other speeches were said. Grace looked around at the sad, tearful expressions of her friends and family. She cried herself as she realized how many people cared about her. She wished this was just a terrible, terrible dream that she will wake up to the next day. I came up to her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

That night, it was unusually cold. It was sad and depressing and not a single sound was heard but the candles flickering as everyone said their prayers.

_Rest in peace, Grace and Sandra. _


	5. Chapter 5

T H E S O U L C O L L E C T O R

Life is beautiful. Treasure it.

The Fifth Experience

I followed Grace as we rapidly ran through a sparse forest. It's been a week since the terrible incident, and he struck again, killing more girls. The police were called at 5:00 in the morning when a park ranger discovered the bodies under a pile of leaves.

When we made it there, police were already investigating the crime scene. They snapped pictures of the girls' battered bodies and neck. Same pattern. They all received blunt force trauma to the head and were hanged. Grace was furious. I was too. How could someone enjoy doing such a thing?

"I can't believe he struck again! Let's hunt him down! He couldn't have gone too far! The coroner said they were recently killed!" Grace exclaimed.

I nodded in agreement. After running north for five minutes, I decided to give my abilities a try.

"Wait, stop." I said to Grace. I closed my eyes and concentrated hard. Surprisingly, I felt a presence, someone feeling anxious and tired. It was a weird, mixed feeling, something I've never felt before. It came within a one mile radius. I opened my eyes. "I think I feel the murderer. He's near."

Grace's eyes widened. "Where is he?"

"Around a mile east." I said as we started heading towards the direction I was pointing to. ]

Sure enough, after sprinting vigorously, we saw a man hurriedly burying bloody ropes and other material he had to hide.

"It's him!" Grace exclaimed as she started marching angrily at the man in an old, black jacket. She started furiously and futilely yelling at him. "You! You are the murder that killed Sandra and me and the rest of the girls! You deserve to burn in hell!" Tears rolled down her cheeks.

This sucked. I was transformed, so I couldn't do anything, or call for the police. I had to transform back or else, he would get away! I hid behind a tree and transformed back to a human. I quickly took out my cell phone and called the police.

"Hello?" A woman answered.

"Quick! I see the murderer of the recent killings! He's still at the forest!" I said, in some kind of a hushed whisper, careful to not let the killer hear me. I also told the woman where I was. Suddenly, the man discovered me, scared at first. Then, he took out his knife and started towards me. Grace screamed and I started running towards the direction of the police. Thank goodness for my training, because I was pretty quick! After five minutes, I started hearing other footsteps; the police that were dispatched to look for the killer. Apparently, he hadn't heard them and continued chasing me.

After a while, the police came into view. They all were holding guns and before I knew it, the killer was surrounded in all sides. He was trapped. I ran and stopped behind the police.

"Drop the knife and put your hands up where I can see them!" A police officer said.

Defeated, the man started to slowly lower the knife. However, very quickly, he raised the knife and slit his own throat! Blood spurted in numerous directions and some of the police looked away. His soul started to burn black and it turned into ashes, disappearing to the Other World's hell. They started advancing towards him as he lay limp on the forest floor.

Later on, I was questioned as to how I discovered him. I lied and said I was simply passing by. I also said I was lost. I told them not to give my name to the news reporters, or to anyone who doesn't really need to know. I didn't want my classmates asking me what happened. I mean, it would be nice for me to be acknowledged, but it would raise suspicion and they would think I am even weirder than before.

It was broadcasted on television across the city that the killer has been found and committed suicide. It has been announced that the rest of the bodies- twenty in total, were found scattered across the forest within vicinity. It was later discovered that as a child, the murderer's father killed his mom the same way he kills his victims.

That late afternoon, Grace asked me to return with her to her home. She saw her parents one last time, happy and relieved that they weren't crying anymore. In fact, they were smiling that the killer was brought to justice. Her mom was wiping a picture of her and was admiring it. Her father was right next to her, with an arm around her waist. We walked to the park together and towards the swings area. She took one last look to me and smiled.

"Thank you so much for everything, Alicia! Without you, the killer would not have been brought to justice!" She exclaimed.

I couldn't help but smile. "You're welcome." I could tell she was ready to leave. "It's time for you to go to the Other World."

She looked at me surprised at first, but agreed. "Yeah, I think so too." She gave me one last hug, which surprised me. "You know, I've sometimes thought you were a little strange back then, staring at things that weren't there. Now, I know why!" She said, laughing.

I smiled once more. "Yeah. I guess that was strange to other people. I hope you see your passed love ones there." I placed my hands together, holding the soul clenser and whispered "Find peace in the Other World."

Grace began to glow bright. She gasped happily as she caught a glimpse of the Other World.

"I see Sandra! I see Sandra! She's smiling and waving at me!" She said, joyfully.

Relieved that Sandra was already there, I said "That's wonderful! Tell her I said hi! May you two spend a happy time there. Goodbye, Grace."

Grace nodded. "Thank you so much for everything! Thank you so much! I will be forever grateful for what you did! I'll miss you! Goodbye!"

Grace left with a beautiful smiling face. I sighed, happy that the case was solved, and that Grace had went to the Other World. I started walking home, tired. When I went to the kitchen, where my grandmother was knitting a scarf, she stood up and walked to me.

"Congratulations on solving the case!" She said to me, smiling.

"Thanks." I replied.

"Hold out your hand."

"Huh?"

"Just hold out your hand" My grandma said, a smile still plastered on her face.

I did as I was told and she dropped an aquamarine colored crystal bead in my hand.

"I haven't gotten one of these in a while! I thought you ran out!" I said, with a smile.

"Since when did I say I ran out of them?" Grandma replied.

"Thanks Grammy." I said as I hugged her. She hugged me back. She gave one of the best hugs in the world!

That night, I slept peacefully, relieved that Grace has gone to the Other World.

The aquamarine crystals gleamed in the jewelry box. Who knows what kind of power they hold? Are they normal, just used to make jewelry? Or are they much more, and used to make something extraordinary? Whatever they were used to make, I still cherish them like treasure.


	6. Chapter 6

T H E S O U L C O L L E C T O R

Life is beautiful. Treasure it.

The Sixth Experience

It's been a few months since Grace and Sandra passed away. School was back to normal, everyone smiling again. The weather's been colder, since winter was just around the corner. Everyone was wearing jackets.

During pre calculus class, Dylan raised his hand to go to the nurse's office. I frowned, knowing his condition was getting worse. The medicine no longer worked as well as before. Sera offered to go with him, but he declined. He wanted to go alone. When he was leaving the classroom, he pretended to look fine. When he entered the hallway, he slid to the floor and held his head in pain.

Worried, I raised my hand to use the restroom. As I suspected, Dylan only walked around ten feet towards the nurse's office. His head's pain was just too big for him to continue. I walked up to him, startling him at first.

"W-What are you doing here?" Dylan asked.

"To see if you're okay. You should really go to the hospital to check on that tumor of yours." I said matter of factly.

"How do you know I have one?" Dylan asked, surprised.

"I just know things." I said, as I started fishing into my pockets for something. After finding it, I handed a white pill to Dylan. It was one of the specially made medicines my grandma crafted. It was far stronger than the medicines the humans made. She probably made them for pains Black Souls would cause. "Here. Eat this."

Dylan stared at it. It was shiny and spherical, so it didn't look like any medicine he would take.

"W-What is it?" He inquired.

"It's a pill that relieves pain. Don't ask me how I got it, or tell anyone I gave it to you. You don't have to take it and keep having that headache, or take it and be pain free for the whole day." I said, staring at him intently.

Dylan hesitated and got up and took the pill from my hand and swallowed it, drinking water from the water fountain. Immediately, the pain from his head started to leave. His eyes widened, staring at me.

"The pain, it's going away fast!" He said, shocked.

I smiled. "It's supposed to work pretty quickly." I said.

"Thank you so much!" Dylan said as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"You're welcome." I said, still smiling.

Dylan frowned.

"What?" I asked.

"Please don't tell anyone about… my brain tumor." Dylan said, worriedly.

"Don't worry, I won't." I said, reassuringly.

"How long have you known?" Dylan asked, curious.

"I've known for quite a while." I replied, avoiding his eyes. "I'm going back to class. You should wait a while before coming back, since you're supposed to be at the nurse's office." I said. I turned around, before he could say anything. "Oh! And don't push yourself too hard."

He returned to class a period later. He looked happier than before.

"Are you all right?" Sera asked Dylan anxiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Dylan said with a smile. He looked over at me, while I was quietly reading a book. Sensing that someone was looking at me, I looked over at Dylan. I felt the feeling of thankfulness coming from him. I smiled back and returned my attention to the book.

"You've been going to the nurses' office quite often." Sera said, worried. "Are you sure everything is all right?"

Dylan gently held her soft hand and smiled. "I'm really all right! Don't worry about me!"

Ron Yoshida, Dylan's best friend patted his back.

"Dylan's tough! He's all right."

After school, I was struck with the unluckiness of chasing a Black Soul. It was quick, and could create scythes from his arms. I ran down the block, as fast as I could, avoiding all the humans. I leaped into the air, trying to shoot him with my Soul Purifier. It was a fancy name for my bow and arrow that was made with blue light. It could pierce through souls. When I got too close, the Black Soul slashed at me and cut through my black jacket and caused blood to trickle down my arm.

"Damn!" I cursed silently.

It started to leap away, not wasting a second. Quickly getting back to my feet, I started running, ignoring the pain coming from my right arm. I started taking aim at the Black Soul again and shot a few arrows at it. It's hard to take down a soul, since it has to hit the soul. If it hits any part of the body besides the soul, it will simply pass through. I created another light arrow with my power and shot one. This time, I got lucky! It shot through its soul and the body deteriorated, leaving a hovering soul.

Quickly, I took out a specially made vial that could temporally hold the Black Soul in. It got sucked in and I quickly closed it with the top. I leave the black soul cleansing job to my grandma! I can't do that yet, for it is too difficult.

After about fifteen minutes, I returned home. Normally, since we have a ghost barrier, souls cannot enter. But, since the black soul is in a vial, it could go in without being completely destroyed.

"Grammy! I have a black soul for you to purify!" I exclaimed as I ran to her.

"Oh really now? I haven't seen them for quite a while." Grandma said as she took the vial from my hands. She clasped her hands around it and whispered "Soul Cleansing". Those two words turned the soul white and sent it to the Other World.

I headed to the bathroom to clean my wound. I poured a special liquid on it that could heal wounds pretty quickly onto my wound. However, the pain still seared greatly as I poured it on my wound. I took a bandage wrap and wrapped around my arm. Exhausted, I went to my own room to rest. My bed was comforting, any time of the day!

That night, I felt like taking a calm, peaceful stroll in the park. I exited the apartment with a white jacket and kept my hands in the warm, soft pockets. The cool wind blew my hair back as I walked down the block, towards the park. I realize that the street was damp. It must've rained when I was taking a nap. As I looked up, I saw hundreds of twinkling stars. I guess the clouds cleared away. Since it was night, there weren't much people at the park. I walked down, enjoying the quiet peacefulness and the beautiful scenery. Being a soul collector and all, I could see pretty well in the dark. It was a natural born trait.

As I walked down the path, I realized someone was sitting on one of the wooden benches. As I got closer, I realized that it was a tall, high school guy.

"Dylan?" I asked.

He looked up and stared at me with his amazing gray eyes. They twinkled under the moonlight.

"Oh, hey Alicia." He said.

"What are you doing out so late?" I asked.

"I was just… taking a breather. I love the peacefulness of the light." He replied.

I smiled. "I love it too. Mind If I sat down?" I asked.

"Sure, go ahead." He said.

I don't know why I said that. Normally, I don't usually interact with people in our class besides May. I'm not the type to make friends. I was surprised to say that I enjoyed sitting next to him, in the quiet peacefulness. I'm not really sure why, but I felt that he enjoyed it too.

"Thank you for earlier. So far, my headache still hasn't come back yet. That's a record!" He said as he searched for my eyes in the dark.

"You're welcome. I'm glad to help." I said.

"How come you don't talk much in class? I've seen you only talking to May."

"I… I guess I'm not that social able. I'm not like you, popular and all."

"Well, you can one step at a time!" He said smiling as he held out a hand to shake.

I stared at it, and slowly, I reached out mine. My heart beat rapidly as I shook his hand. What was this feeling I felt? Sure, I can feel other people's feelings pretty well. But mine? No.

"How come you don't join the gymnastics team? You're pretty good at it." He asked, staring into the sky.

"I don't have time. I have business to attend to after school." I said. This was true—soul catching and all.

"Oh." He said. Thank goodness he didn't ask why.

We sat there in silence for a few minutes. Finally, I decided it was time to go, for it was getting too late.

"I'm going to go home. Good night." I said as I started to get up.

"Okay, it was nice talking to you. Good night!" Dylan said.

I walked down the path, on the direction of my home. As I turned around, I saw that he was getting up to go home too. Above, the stars were still shining brightly. The full moon also lit up the sky.


	7. Chapter 7

Life is beautiful. Treasure it.

The Seventh Experience

As I slid open the door to the classroom, I immediately saw tense faces and clamoring students. I felt anxiety emanating from them. Mr. Anderson looked tense. Looking around the room, I saw Sera crying, and that Dylan wasn't present in school. My chest started to beat rapidly. I felt weird when I woke up, but I wasn't sure why. I sat down in my regular seat and May turned around and faced me in her seat.

"Dylan's in the hospital." May said, with her eyes wide.

My eyes widened too. I gasped, speechless.

Over the course of the school day, people from around the school came to our classroom and asked Sera what happened. Sera would always reply with a sob and a shake of a head. She would say: "I don't know!" The people would leave, dismayed.

"It's okay. I'm sure Dylan's fine." Ron said, as he gently placed a hand on Sera's shoulder.

"He better be! I miss him!" Sera replied, with hot tears in her eyes.

After school, the whole class decided to visit Dylan at the hospital. When we got there, the nurses shook their heads and said only close people of Dylan could enter. Dylan's mother came out and recognized Ron and Sera. She asked them to go in. The rest of us had to leave.

Right when Sera saw Dylan with his eyes closed, and a bandage wrapped around his head, she ran to the bed side and started sobbing. Dylan slowly reached out for her hand a grabbed it. Surprised, she looked up, with tears still trickling down.

"Y-You're awake! Oh Dylan, you're awake!" Sera said, relieved.

"Of course I'm awake." Dylan replied as he smiled weakly.

Ron came over and patted his shoulder.

"You're strong bro." He said.

Dylan nodded. After visiting hours were over, the room was dark and silent. It was 9 O' Clock and the moon shone brightly. Dylan looked outside the clear windows; he had asked the nurses earlier to pull the curtains back before they left.

I felt like I needed to visit him, so I did. I had transformed into my Soul Collector form and leaped to the hospital. I remembered the room number he was in, and I estimated the proximity of the room. Looking up from the west side of the building, I squinted up, calculating how far I would have to jump. Then, bending my knees, I leapt up, stopping at just the right time. I went through the window like it was air, and landed swiftly and quietly on the floor. There, on the white hospital bed slept Dylan. His soft blonde hair was wrapped in a bandage, his breathing normal and stable. I silently went up to him, careful to not awaken him. The only light in the room were the neighboring building's faint lights and- my eyes. In dark places, my blue Soul Collector eyes glow. Staring down at him, I felt his calmness.

Suddenly, with no warning, his silver eyes opened and searched the dark, stopping and squinting at my eyes. I guess to him, I was a faint figure that was barely there. Normally, humans couldn't see me in this form. He… must be meeting his end soon.

"Y-You" Dylan faintly said.

"Hush" I said as I gently placed my hand onto his forehead. The gentle glow of my eyes disappeared as they closed. There was a dim white glow emanating from my palm. I was focusing my healing powers to the base of my hand. Immediately, Dylan's eyes began to droop. After a while, he was asleep.

The next day, everyone was surprised that Dylan was back in school. They were all surrounding him, asking about what happened.

"I-I don't know what happened! One day, I had a throbbing headache, and the next, it was all gone!" Dylan exclaimed. He thought "It was like a dream… the memory of last night is fading away…"

That morning, I came late to school, having barely enough energy to get out of bed. During homeroom, I was asleep. Throughout the whole day, I was fighting to keep myself awake. I used up too much energy, trying to make Dylan's tumor spread slower, and to ease the pain. Why was I doing this? Would it be, because he was one of my classmates?

"Alicia, it is so unlike you to be sleepy in class! What happened?" May asked worriedly.

"I'm just really drained." I replied as I yawned.

"Drained? What did you do?" She asked me.

"… Helping my grandma around the house. She wanted to rearrange some furniture." I said quickly.

"Ohh… Well make sure you take a good rest when you get home!" She said thoughtfully.

"Oh, I will." I replied. "If I can…" I thought.

May had to go to the dentist after school, so I walked home alone. I staggered down the block, exhausted. I should've stayed home from school today.

"Wait, Alicia!" Someone called out from behind me. I turned around to see Dylan jogging towards me. He stopped in front of me and closely studied my blue eyes. I couldn't look away from his unwavering silver eyes.

"Did you-" He paused. "No… it can't be. She couldn't have went into the hospital room. It was late at night and no visitors were allowed. How did that girl even get in there? Was it all just a dream?" He thought, confused.

"Did I… what?" I asked, innocently.

"Nothing… I'm just going crazy these days." He said as he shook his head, freeing me from his powerful gaze.

"You should rest more." I said as a smile appeared on my face. That smile disappeared as I saw a Pure Soul wandering across the street. "I um, have to go. See ya" I said as I ran into an alley and came out transformed. I could see Dylan staring at my way, squinting a little. He probably saw me as a really faint figure. I advanced towards the Pure Soul, which looked like an old lady. She gazed around, looking lost.

As I came towards her, she brightened up.

"Ahh young lady! You seem to be noticing me! I haven't had any luck asking people directions. Do you know where the direction of the hospital is?" She asked, kindly.

"I'm sorry, but you no longer have to return there." I replied, as calm as I could.

"W-What do you mean? My daughter and granddaughter are waiting for me there!" She replied, confused.

"You already have passed on. It's time for you to go to the Other World. Just trust me, okay?" I said. "Just relax. You'll see your other past loved ones again."

I closed my eyes and held my "soul cleanser" between my palms and whispered "Find peace in the Other World."

The old lady began to become bright, starting from the bottom. After a few seconds, she was all bright.

"I-I see my husband, John!" The old lady exclaimed with a gasp. "He's waving at me!"

"Good bye." I said as she disappeared to the Other World.

When she was gone, I sighed, even more tired than before. I sauntered home and collapsed onto my bed, falling asleep immediately. Last night and today drained me completely.


End file.
